Ai Qi's lips moved a few times, "Actually, you didn't have to go out..."
Just needed to turn away.
She sighed, unbuttoned her clothes, and caught sight of the half-eaten green fruits on the ground out of the corner of her eye. A slight curve formed at the corner of her mouth, the sweet and sour taste of the fruit still lingering.
They were truly delicious.
Before long, footsteps sounded at the cave entrance, but he didn't come in. Ai Qi knew what the other person was waiting for, just like last time on the boat.
There was no sound from inside for a long time before Fu Jingshu took a step inside.
The result was seeing a scene with clothes half-undone and a bare shoulder. Seeing him, Ai Qi clearly flustered and quickly put on the clothes she hadn't finished dressing.
She clutched the front of her dress and cautiously looked at Fu Jingshu.
But she saw that his expression was calm. Except for looking away when he first saw her, there were no other fluctuations.
"Brother Fu..."
"You don't need to worry. Apart from my wife, everyone else is the same in my eyes," Fu Jingshu paused, as if contemplating how to phrase it, "There's no difference."
That was true.
In his eyes, there were only two kinds of people: his wife, and others.
After a long while, Ai Qi dryly responded, "Oh."
The atmosphere suddenly became awkward.
But to be precise, only Ai Qi felt awkward. Fu Jingshu seemed completely oblivious, sitting three meters away from her as usual, lost in thought by the fire.
Ai Qi hesitated for a moment and asked, "When can we go out?"
"I don't know."
"...You don't know?"
Ai Qi was truly surprised by his answer.
In her impression, he was very reliable. No matter what the matter, when it came to him, a solution could be quickly found. It was just that with Shen Qingqing around, he usually didn't speak much.
This time...
"Then can we still reunite with everyone?"
Fu Jingshu remained silent.
Ai Qi hugged her knees, watching the leaping flames before her, her gaze involuntarily drifting to him, "Brother Fu, thank you for saving me..."
Fu Jingshu narrowed his eyes abruptly.
"If it weren't for you, I would have fallen alone and might have lost my life." Not might have, but 99% would have lost her life.
Fu Jingshu was silent for a moment, then said, "You grabbed me and wouldn't let go."
Ai Qi froze instantly, "Ah?"
Fu Jingshu glanced at her, a clear hint of disgust in his eyes. If she had grabbed someone else at that moment, he wouldn't have paid any attention.
Even if Ai Qi was terrible at reading people, she understood the meaning of that glance.
She immediately felt ashamed.
She didn't know why she had done that at the time... it was an unconscious action. But what touched her even more was that Fu Jingshu had actually turned back to pull her.
It was just that the ground was too slippery at the time, and he hadn't stood firm.
"I'm sorry..."
Fu Jingshu ignored her.
Ai Qi felt both guilty and annoyed. She didn't even dare to look at him, feeling that she had been presumptuous, and Fu Jingshu had saved her out of necessity.
Thinking like this, wasn't she a burden?!
She fell silent.
Since she wasn't speaking, and Fu Jingshu wasn't a talkative person by nature, the cave fell silent, with only the crackling of the fire.
Suddenly, Ai Qi let out a muffled groan and collapsed on the ground, holding her arm.
Fu Jingshu looked up at her, "What's wrong?"
She couldn't answer, her eyes tightly shut, her body convulsing.
Fu Jingshu quickly went to check and saw a wound on her ankle, as if bitten by a venomous snake. But after searching the cave, he found no poisonous snake.
Forget it, save her first.
He took an antidote pill from his pocket and fed it to her.
Her teeth were clenched tightly, refusing to swallow. Fu Jingshu had no pity, and pinched her cheeks with his thumb and two fingers.
With a slight force, her cheek flesh ached, and she involuntarily opened her mouth.
A pill was directly thrown down her throat.
Ai Qi gagged, but her mouth was grabbed and she was forced to swallow. After this ordeal, Ai Qi weakly opened her eyes.
"What did you give me?"
"Antidote."
As soon as she woke up, Fu Jingshu immediately let go, as if discarding a rag, and instinctively rubbed his hand on his pants.
His潔癖 (cleanliness obsession) had kicked in.
Ai Qi gritted her teeth, still feeling unwell, weak, and cold, as if ice blocks were slowly moving through her blood.
They took away her warmth and strength, leaving only a sleepy drowsiness.
But looking at his actions, she was so angry that she woke up completely, "Brother Fu, do you hate me that much?"
He's willing to feed Shen Qingqing, and eat her leftovers, but feeding her a pill, and with such disgust!
And the method just now, thinking about it felt awkward.
When her family's dog was sick, they fed it medicine the same way!
While she was fuming, Fu Jingshu remained calm. Facing her question, he didn't even give her an extra glance.
Ai Qi wanted to say more, but suddenly felt dizzy, "Brother Fu, I... I feel so unwell..."
Fu Jingshu said faintly, "The medicine is taking effect. You can sleep for a while."
"Will you stay with me?"
She clutched the edge of her jacket with both hands, looking at him expectantly.
Fu Jingshu's thin lips parted, "No."
Ai Qi: "..."
She shouldn't have asked.
She closed her eyes and slowly fell asleep.
As time passed, the sky outside gradually darkened, and raindrops began to fall. Fu Jingshu, who was tending the fire, paused slightly and couldn't help but look to the side.
With the rain, any traces they had left behind were gone.
If his wife wanted to find him...
He glanced at Ai Qi, undisguised disgust in his eyes. If she hadn't been half-dead, he would have set off long ago to find his way back.
Women are such trouble!
"Cold... I'm so cold..."
In her sleep, Ai Qi curled into a ball, hugging her arms, shivering all over.
Fu Jingshu glanced at her and remained unmoved.
"Mommy... I'm so cold..."
Although she had taken the antidote, it still took some time for the snake venom to be cleared from her body. During this process, the body would experience alternating hot and cold sensations.
Coupled with the heavy rain outside, cold and damp air rushed into the cave.
A blush appeared on her face.
Those were symptoms of a fever.
Fu Jingshu tutted. If he didn't take care of her, she would have a fever and delay their journey. Giving her his jacket, although it meant sacrificing a piece of clothing, would at least make her less of a burden to him. He hesitated for less than a second.
He chose the latter.
The distinctly masculine jacket was thrown onto her. Ai Qi instinctively hugged it, still faintly warm.
She sniffled contentedly and fell asleep.
...
Night fell, and the rain poured down.
The search party trudged through the mountain forest, their steps sinking deep into the muddy ground with each step, leaving deep footprints.
Their progress was extremely difficult.
Yet, Shen Qingqing, who they had found, walked resolutely and without hesitation.
Her pant legs were already dirty, and her shoes had lost their original color. Water dripped from her body, and strands of hair clung to her back.
But her slender figure was as upright as a bamboo stalk.
No matter how heavy the rain or strong the wind, they could not make her bow her back.
Seeing this, the others didn't know what to say. After all, if a young lady like her didn't complain, it would be too embarrassing for a group of grown men to whine.